Press Releases

The Local Show Visits Full Moon!

It’s that time of year…the leaves are starting to turn crimson and burnt orange, pumpkins adorn front doorsteps and those who are not faint of heart line up on the streets of Kansas City’s historic West Bottoms for a frenzy of fright inside the neighborhood’s famous haunted houses. For almost 40 years, Full Moon Productions have been masters in fear, garnering national attention for their popular empire of devilishly-detailed haunted houses and ability to bring nightmares to life. Full Moon is the company behind beloved KC haunted houses The Beast (America’s largest haunted house), The Edge of Hell (KC’s oldest haunted house), The Chambers of Edgar Allen Poe(explore the twisted tales of Edgar Allen Poe), and Macabre Cinema (which allows you to experience scenes from your favorite horror movies).

Thursday, October 11th at 7:30 pm on 19.1 HD, on KCPT’s primetime public and cultural affairs program, THE LOCAL SHOW, Producer Sandy Woodson and Videographer Dave Burkhardt went behind the scenes of Full Moon’s haunted houses, where visitors travel through a variety of imaginative, immersive and technologically advanced spine-tingling rooms, corridors – and even a five-story spiral slide. THE LOCAL SHOW introduces viewers to the people behind the make-up who bring the scares to life: including “The Rat Man” and Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, the third-generation owner of Full Moon Productions. But Full Moon Productions is about more than just houses of horrors and Medusa, the 25 foot snake who was just awarded a Guinness World Record as the world’s longest snake ever in captivity, the company is also heavily involved in the community and charities, with Chambers of Poe and Macabre Cinema proceeds going to the Dream Factory, an organization that grants wishes to terminally ill children. Don’t wait too long to get your scream on; the haunted houses close their doors for the season after November 3rd.

Muster up your courage and let interested parties know to tune in to THE LOCAL SHOW for a spooky, goosebumpy time, and be sure to check our website for a list of repeat airings and online episodes.

Thrill Seekers Gather for Weekend of Terror

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 13, 2010 – Each Fall, hundreds of residents creep out of their dwellings under the cover of darkness and head, like zombies, to West Bottoms near Kansas City’s downtown, to experience the nationally-acclaimed destination haunted houses, Edge of Hell and The Beast as well as experience the new West Bottoms haunts and ghost tour.

Haunt enthusiasts have an extraordinary opportunity to participate in the first Legendary Haunt Tour for the region. Reservations are not for the faint of heart, November 12 and 13, as the best of the best in scare tactics and haunt horror will be on display and discussed. The road trip for enthusiasts will converge at Kansas City’s Westin Crown Center Hotel and offer packages that include the destination-worthy haunted houses and ghost tour. Transworld Exhibit produced the event with Netherworld Haunted House and Full Moon Productions. The event features seminars, panel discussions, learning tracks, celebrities and parties designed for the haunt enthusiast and industry. Details about the Legendary Haunt Tour and registration information can be unearthed at www.legendaryhaunttour.com

Kansas City’s Edge of Hell and its bad relative, The Beast, are often featured in travel publications and television. The Edge of Hell and The Beast are located in Kansas City’s West Bottoms District off the 12th Street Bridge in dark brick buildings from the 1800s.

Entering its 36th “scare season,” Full Moon Productions continues to rework the two famous haunts, outfitting them with high-tech special effects, animatronics, and Hollywood-caliber sets and costumes. It has also ramped up the fear factor at two additional haunts, the Chambers of Poe and Macabre Cinema.

Brand new in 2010 is the Kansas City Ghosts and Gangsters Tour. Imaginations are taken for a ride on The Ghoul Bus, where guides point out places of past mystery and mayhem around Kansas City. The ghost tour is sold-out through November but seats will be available for those reserved for the Legendary Haunt Tour. Due to the overwhelming demand of the ghost tour, reservations are required. Times and ticket information are available at 816.842.0320.

Registration includes packages with haunt passes, ghost tour, seminars and party options. Seminar options offer choice of focus on the paranormal, horror and special effects as well as the world of haunted houses with celebrity speakers renowned in their respective horror genre fields. Speakers include: Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead Director FX, Tom Savini; John Zaffis expert and author referenced by national media as an authority on topics related to the paranormal, exorcism and demonology; and Patrick Burns, star of TV’s Haunting Evidence, is a renowned paranormal investigator and respected ‘skeptical believer among others.

“Haunt enthusiasts love to experience haunts with other people that share their passion and crave learning about the industry out of curiosity, a hobby or to fine tune their own haunts,” said Amber Arnett-Bequeath, vice president at Full Moon Productions, producers of the haunted attractions in the West Bottoms. “We know people from all over the region see our haunted houses as a destination and will be thrilled to include The Legendary Haunt Tour in their visit.”

Full Moon Productions has owned and operated world-class haunted house attractions since 1975 and makes a priority of helping children’s charities in the community. Find out more about Full Moon’s attractions, history and their latest offerings at www.fullmoonprod.com

A Frightening Strategy

October 2009 - KC Small Business magazineA Frightening Strategy: Amber Arnett-Bequeaith of Full Moon ProductionsScaring customers is business as usual for these hauntrepreneurs.

By Kate Leibsle

Amber Arnett-Bequeaith knows her look confounds those with a preconceived notion of what someone in her business should look like. Up late interviewing zombies and ghouls for her four haunted houses the night before, Amber breezes into the Full Moon Production offices in a summer dress, coffee and notebook in hand, looking businesslike, and, well, normal.“People think I should be Goth,” she said. “We’re not like that. We’re a true theatrical production.”And the magnitude of their seasonal theatrical production is astounding. More than 200 “on-stage” and behind the scenes employees will frighten the bejeezus out of more than 100,000 people this year—in just 29 days—at the company’s four haunted houses in Kansas City.

America Haunts Films at Beast/Edge

The Travel Channel program America Haunts spent the day and night filming at Kansas City's infamous haunted houses, The Beast and Edge of Hell on September 19th, 2009. The show to aired in October, 2009!

35th Anniversary

September 200935 Years of Terror Marks Opening Weekend at The Edge of Hell and The Beast

Terror and horror have returned for the 35th season of Kansas City’s only world-class haunted house attractions. “The Beast” and “The Edge of Hell” haunted houses open this Labor Day weekend for those who dare to darken the doors of these haunts in the historic West Bottoms district. Haunted house goers should not be afraid, as emergency repairs are expected to be complete on the nearby 12th Street bridge over I-35 in time for opening day.Read more: 35th Anniversary

Halloween Kansas City Style

Reprinted from the September - October 2009 issue of KC Studio.

Not many people walking through a haunted house think that the characters scaring them into fits of collapsing screams and laughter realize the characters are actors trained to read the body language of the haunted house visitors and time their scares just right.

Full Moon Festival

October 9-12, 2008The biggest bash the west bottoms has ever seen !Don’t miss Art on the edge, live music, bonfires, food & DRINK vendors

Schedule of events:

Thursday, Oct. 9th, 8 pm – Ink Haunted House Party Edge of Hell Parking lotPurchase a ticket to the haunted house get into the party FREE!Featuring DJ the DJ, Harrah's resident.$1 Vodka Drinks -- $1 Beers

Proceeds to benefit The Variety Club of KCSponsored by: inkkc.com, Boulevard Brewing Co., and Bombora Vodka

Friday, Oct. 10th 5:30 – First annual Harley Haunt RideSupports variety the children’s charity of greater Kansas City & Party to live music by Pull, Woo, Sinfracture and Hate IncorporatedRegistration 5:30-6:30 Worth-Harley Davidson at 6609 North Oak Trafficway. READ MORE...

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Washington, DC; September 7, 2010 – truth, the nation’s largest smoking prevention campaign for youth, is continuing its 11th annual nationwide summer tour with stops through the fall. For the months of September and October, a seven-member truth crew will travel to 11 states, stopping at musical and sporting events where teens gather and meeting teens one-on-one through guerrilla marketing events.

This year’s edition of the tour began June 25 at tour stops in California and New York with two separate crews. The crews eventually made more than 60 stops across more than 25 states.

The fall edition of the tour will hit some new markets where the campaign has not previously traveled, including Knoxville, Tenn.; Athens, Ga.; Oklahoma City; and St. Augustine, Fla.

By traveling throughout the United States, truth continues its life-saving mission to educate young people about the health effects, addictiveness and social consequences of tobacco use – while also allowing teens to experience the truth campaign first-hand. The effort is led by seven dynamic truth “crew members” – talented and charismatic young adults who engage in peer-to-peer interaction with teens. At most stops during the fall tour, the crew will use its signature orange “truth truck” and zone, which form a natural gathering place for teenagers. In the zone, crew members hold fashion shows, dance contests and freestyle rap “battles,” play games and distribute truth“gear” – fashionable and trendy items reflecting tobacco messages. The fun and engaging atmosphere makes it easier for truth crew members to discuss tobacco issues in a non-preachy way.

· AST Dew Tour – an action sports tour, featuring the top action sports athletes in the world competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup in skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross.

· America Haunts – three Halloween-themed events, two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and one in Chicago. This marks the first time truth has worked with America Haunts, a collective of the most successful and renowned haunted houses and attractions in the country.

· Honda Civic Tour – an annual concert tour sponsored by the Honda Motor Company. This year’s headlining band is Paramore, a rock band known for its contributions to the Twilight soundtrack.

truth will also make impromptu appearances at teen-oriented events and venues such as festivals, skate parks, community centersand more in cities like San Francisco, St. Petersburg, Fla. and Los Angeles, among others.

“After a summer where our crew members traveled the country, educated thousands of teens and tweeted and blogged about their experiences the whole way, we are pleased we will be able to bring more of these great connective experiences to more of the nation’s teens,” said Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H., president and CEO of Legacy, the national public health foundation that directs and funds thetruth campaign. “As truth celebrates its ten-year anniversary in 2010, the tour has been a significant part of our success over the decade. This is the second year that we have been able to extend the tour into the fall months, and we welcome the chance to hit more cities, work with more event partners and reach thousands more teens with important information about tobacco use and the tobacco industry.”

The fall tour will be enhanced online at www.thetruth.com, where users can learn about truth, meet the truth crew members who will be out on tour, view video blogs and photos from the field, play games, find out where upcoming events will take place, and view updates from tour stops.

In addition, tour-specific programming will run on select networks and channels popular with teens. FUEL TV, the cable network devoted to the lifestyle and culture of action sports, will feature interviews with crew members and video from the truth tour on its news program “The Daily Habit.” Two different segments will run on FUEL, starting in late October.

The fall tour truth crew members and their hometowns include:

Crew Member:

Hometown

Anna Satayana

Fairfax, Va.

Daniella Sloane

Philadelphia

Tennie Brown

San Diego

Ashley Chen

New York

Anthony McLean

Washington, D.C.

Thomas Sands

Gardner, Mass.

Zach Scott

Springfield, Va.

truth is a multidimensional campaign, featuring not only grassroots outreach through summer tours but also advertising (television, radio, print, online, cinema), Websites and interactive elements, and events. In the past decade, the truth campaign has kept nearly half a million teens from smoking, protecting them from years of addiction and tobacco-related disease and saving countless lives. A growing body of research has confirmed the efficacy of the truth campaign in changing teens' attitudes and behaviors toward smoking. A study published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) found that truth was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years, from 2000 to 2004. A second paper in that same publication found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved between $1.9 and $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society.

For the fall 2010 program, Arnold Worldwide/Boston is responsible for the design of the truth zone and design of truth gear. GTM…It means a lot (Atlanta), manages truth crew recruiting and operations, and Mobile Media Enterprises of Atlanta provides all transportation and asset support.

For more information on the Honda Civic Tour, visit http://civictour.honda.com/.

For more information on the Tony Hawk Presents Birdhouse World Tour,visit http://www.birdhouseskateboards.com/index.php.

BACKGROUND ON THE truth CAMPAIGN

truth, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking. truth allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products.

Legacy is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation’s programs include truth, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. Legacy was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visitwww.legacyforhealth

Legacy is equipped with a VideoLink ReadyCam™ television studio system, providing you with faster, easier access to the nation’s leading tobacco prevention and cessation experts. From this in-house broadcast studio, Legacy can offer immediate access to its experts to comment on breaking news, new research publications, or any news related to youth smoking prevention, adult quit smoking programs, or any issue related to smoking. The studio is connected directly to the Vyvx fiber network and is always available for live or pre-taped interviews. To arrange an interview using the ReadyCam, please contact Julia Cartwright at 202-454-5596.

Wedding from Hell 2007

2007 A Wedding from Hell! winners of the special wedding ceremony? at the Edge Of Hell. Wedding photography courtesy of Flowerlover Photography.